JMO, physically, someone can get stronger to lift weights, or lift weights to get stronger - both work.
With this, you can develop your astral senses to do magick, or, do magick, and that will open your astral senses.
Maybe because I came at this from NOT having books, tutorials, or the internet, I did the latter and therefore think people sometimes get too caught up tryin g to open their senses first, that could just be my own bias in action though. 
Of what I can do to help, time to recommend that core shamanism tutorial, as one of the best ways to do the latter, and also, this: